Comic Book Resources

That Iron Man cover in the honourable mentions is intrigueing. At first I read the Rom174 as Romita, intentional maybe?

Also, X-Force? Is there some special law after the Civil War that every team should include Wolverine?

i love that Chris Giarrusso gag!

i really like those mcniven spidey villains too so i gotta disagree with you there…some nice covers all in all.

i wish it was like a countdown from worst to best (in your opinion) so it wasn’t just random and then top five, or that there was a poll underneath to rate them outta ten or something…

That Iron Man cover in the honourable mentions is intrigueing. At first I read the Rom174 as Romita, intentional maybe?

Definitely intentional. It’s l33t. Plus, the word undernearth Romita is Layton.

Re: Ultimate Iron Man II #1:

Why do they keep drawing his helmet so that it looks like a monkey’s face?

She Hulk too T&A? There is no “too” when it comes to Shulkie.

X-Factor #26: Wolverine in ANOTHER group?!? Yeesh.

New Avengers #37: 4 Ninjas is 3 too many.

X-Men Messiah: best Phoenix costume ever. But Khan was right. It is very cold in space.

Giant Sized Avengers: That’s the ugliest picture of Doctor Strange ever.

Wolverine Firebreak: That cover is racist, sir! Racist!

Punisher #53: Even without any words, you’d KNOW that’s a Garth Ennis comic.

Marvel Adventures Iron Man: Cool picture, but that’s an Adventures cover?!?

Marvel Adventures Avengers: Now THAT’S an Adventures cover.

Those Marvel Illustrated covers are SWEEEEET!

Best cover? Iron Fist.

Worst cover? The Holiday Special. There is nothing warm, cheery, happy, attractive, inviting, or anything else I associate with the holidays about that cover. Pure ugly. And what the hell are they eating?!? Is that a Skrulls leg?

Lots of nice pictures, but do all Marvel covers have to look like Zombie covers now? Even when they’re not Zombie covers? Lots and lots of ugly on the shelf.

The Avengers: Intiative cover had me spitting up chocolate milk.

How many books is Marvel putting Wolverine on the cover of at the moment? It seems like it’s honestly more than ever before. I know he’s popular but…it’s a bit ridiculous, really.

That New Excalibur cover actually shows the series’ current villain, Albion, but it’s still a bloody awful costume.

Let it be known Brian, that I thought your Wolverine as a sex offender joke was hillarious.

I think Paul Gulacy would rule on a Dr. Doom comic book!

It could feature Doom, Penance, Deadpool, that dude Zero from the old X-Force comics, Snake-Eyes and the Transformers.

Oh geez Brian, that is SOOO wrong. HAHAHA

I do have to disagree about those McNiven villains in the suits and masks, they look way cool.

RE: Iron Man Power Pack #2

Am I the only one who saw the solicit for this and thought, “Why has no one done this before?!” It’s like this small piece of awesome in my life I never even realized was missing…

And yes, I am eager to see just how Julie Power manages to whup Speed Demon. I enjoy that Power Pack needs to be continuously paired with some other group or hero in these mini-series, but really it’s just a formality so that the writer (Fred vanLente?) can keep telling Power Pack stories.

Have a Great Day!

“At least it isn’t Jan.”

Ow. Really.

That line made me do a spit-take.

Also, there is no such thing as a bad Art Adams cover, heathen.

Keep em coming.

The Finch Ultimate Marvel cover is totally lopsided. Hulk & Cap’s shield are on the right, everyone else is either center or left. Well drawn, but bad layout.

Ultimate Iron Man II: IM has a monkey face. Silly-cool.

Res Sonja’s head is too big for her body, and her lips are too pouty.

Punisher 53: It’s the front of a claymore. Knowing this, ad knowing what a claymore is/does, there’s a clear tone to the book. Without this knowledge, it’s WTH?

Ms Marvel: I had that game when I was 11 or 12! It was great. You matched up the different parts and created superheroes to color. My daughter has the Barbie version.

Speed Demon doesn’t have a left leg! He hops really fast, huh.

Foolkiller: In this issue, Mr. T grows hair, but ‘Killer doesn’t pity the fool!

Avengers Classic: Good or bad, Art Adams always gets a pass from me. He’s done so much great stuff I can excuse the bad. Whis is what this is. At least it’s well drawn bad.

ASM: Spidey vs. chinese demon robot ninja thingies in suits. That’ll draw in the readers.

Iron Man 24: I’m a guitarist. It really gets under my skin when a guitar or bass is misdrawn. The artist immediatelt has cool points from me. On the back wall is an array of guitar effect pedals. Left to right: MXR Noise Gate, Ibanez Tube Screamer, Boss DS-1, unknown E.Q., MXR Phase-90. Below is a Holy Grail Reverb, above is an unknown rack-mount effect. All are easily identifiable by shape & color alone. He knows his stuff and drew it right. The only questin is “Why are stomp boxes mounted on the wall?”

On that Iron Man cover, I also saw “Romita” at first, which I’m sure was the intent. But my next thought was “Wait, ROM never made it to 174 issues, did it?”

I absolutely love the Claymore concept for the Punisher MAX cover. Someone reading the “Front Toward Enemy” a split-second before it blows up in their face is a mainstay of almost any Ennis comic, and I can’t remember the last time it was used in Punisher MAX since the first arc. (I know there was a claymore in issue #50, but I can’t remember if Chaykin drew the front or not.)

He sure did, but it was 2 seconds before it blew. A couple of pages later, Frank tossed a bad guy on top of another one. He made damn fine kevlar.

Also… the X-Factor cover. That has to be the single most stabby stabby, slashy slashy assemblage of heroes ever assembled on one team.

“No claws? Sorry, dude, You can’t join. We all have claws.”

“But I have these two big knives!”

“Well… okay.”

“Frenz has been on a role”

Proof that I’m a dork - I got the biggest kick from improper word usage.

– Avengers Classic #7 is dead on regarding the issue content; the Enchantress brainwashes Thor into battling his teammates by causing him to hallucinate monstrous, attacking versions of the Avengers.

— The problem on that Wolverine: Origins cover isn’t the angle, it’s the choregraphy. The directions of Cap’s implied swing and Logan’s bloody spit-take aren’t consistent.

— The worst part of Suydam’s zombie cover is that he usues an almost unmodified stat of the original cover’s collage background. Couldn’t be bothered to slip some more gory jokes into it, then?

— Look, it’s the New Avengers roster facing the reader! For the fourth time in six issues!

— I’ve gotta give very high marks to the DD #103 cover simply for using an angle I haven’t seen very often. How often do we get covers explicitly from the POV of some poor thug looking straight up at impending doom?

— Poor Korvus, sporting a fantasy-manga Big Freakin’ Sword in a pseudorealist art genre….

I didn’t even notice that Iron Man cover didn’t say Romita until it was pointed out. Interesting.

Also, did anyone else look at the Black Panther cover and think “Why is Batman on the cover of a Marvel comic?”

While most of these covers are nicely drawn, I still miss the days when covers used to show a dramatic moment which happened inside the comic.

You know…to entice us readers to actually pick up the book and maybe buy it!

Which of these covers actually make you want to pick up a book if you were not currently buying it? None work for me.

I do miss those covers from the 60s,70s and 80s…sigh

I think on that Marvel Adventures; Fantastic Four cover, that Kirk is drawing the Thing’s head much too small for those massive shoulders he drew.

I like that Marvel Adventures: Iron Man, maybe not for an all-ages book, but I just think it looks cool, ominous, I suppose.

I agree the Punisher cover isn’t much, but I think it does give a sense of what’s going to happen.

The Spider-Man fighting weird guys in suits cover works for me because hopefully we’re getting some hint of what the issue is about.

I also wish Granov would change it up on the Nova covers a little. Put more than one person on the cover, show them interacting somehow. He did it with issues 2 and 3, so it’s not beyond his abilities.

For some reason, I like that Grummett included some civilians on that Marvel Adventures: Avengers cover, so it’s not just the Avengers getting tossed around. It’s a nice touch.

Brian, you’re thinking of the wonderful Mighty Men and Monster Maker! I wouldn’t call it a game, but it taught me everything I know about superhero anatomy:

http://www.samstoybox.com/toypics/MightyMenMonsterBox.jpg

The best thing, for me, about the Ms Marvel cover is that although the bodies line up vertically, they don’t fit if you cut them out and join them according to costume.

i love that Chris Giarrusso gag!

Yeah, it’s a good one.

I really like his most recent Human Torch one.

i wish it was like a countdown from worst to best (in your opinion) so it wasn’t just random and then top five, or that there was a poll underneath to rate them outta ten or something…

What, do you WANT to see more complaints?

Why do they keep drawing his helmet so that it looks like a monkey’s face?

A subtle mocking of creationism.

Or I really have no idea.

Definitely intentional. It’s l33t. Plus, the word undernearth Romita is Layton.

I will admit that I didn’t even notice it was l33t. I just thought it said Romita!

Spider-Man Family is a great All Ages comic, except for one thing: They print the puzzles on glossy paper so that you can only do them with a pen. They really need to go with a more pencil-friendly paper stock, if only for those specific pages.

Marvel Adventures Iron Man: Cool picture, but that’s an Adventures cover?!?

Marvel Adventures Avengers: Now THAT’S an Adventures cover.

I sorta admire that about the Young cover, though.

It challenges the younger audience - I think they actually appreciate that more than being given art that is “appropriate” for them.

Spider-Man Family is a great All Ages comic, except for one thing: They print the puzzles on glossy paper so that you can only do them with a pen. They really need to go with a more pencil-friendly paper stock, if only for those specific pages.

I didn’t even know they HAD puzzles in Spider-Man Family!

How did I miss THAT?!?

No new issue of Fantastic Four or Incredible Hulk ships in December?

Weird.

That New Excalibur cover actually shows the series’ current villain, Albion, but it’s still a bloody awful costume.

I thought it was him, too, but the solicits made it sound like Brian got a new costume like Albion’s.

Either way, it IS ugly.

No new issue of Fantastic Four or Incredible Hulk ships in December?

Weird.

I know Hulk definitely ships, probably FF, too. They just didn’t have covers solicited.

Avengers Classic: Good or bad, Art Adams always gets a pass from me. He’s done so much great stuff I can excuse the bad. Whis is what this is. At least it’s well drawn bad.

Oh, totally agreed.

A bad cover here and there does not really mean anything when the artist is as good as Art Adams.

Let it be known Brian, that I thought your Wolverine as a sex offender joke was hillarious.

Gracias. I think Gary Erskine used to draw Wolverine in a similar fashion.

Oh geez Brian, that is SOOO wrong. HAHAHA

Let me state for the record that Paul Gulacy is a good comic book artist!

Any teasing I give him is all in good fun!

And yes, I am eager to see just how Julie Power manages to whup Speed Demon. I enjoy that Power Pack needs to be continuously paired with some other group or hero in these mini-series, but really it’s just a formality so that the writer (Fred vanLente?) can keep telling Power Pack stories.

Have a Great Day!

Most of the series have been by Mark Sumerak (and this issue is also a Sumerak one), but Van Lente did the FF mini-series.

– Avengers Classic #7 is dead on regarding the issue content; the Enchantress brainwashes Thor into battling his teammates by causing him to hallucinate monstrous, attacking versions of the Avengers.

Right, but I think he veers a bit off in his depiction of the demon hallucinations.

— The problem on that Wolverine: Origins cover isn’t the angle, it’s the choregraphy. The directions of Cap’s implied swing and Logan’s bloody spit-take aren’t consistent.

Yeah, that is what I meant by “angle,” I should have been clearer that that was what I intended.

— The worst part of Suydam’s zombie cover is that he usues an almost unmodified stat of the original cover’s collage background. Couldn’t be bothered to slip some more gory jokes into it, then?

That is definitely bad, but I think the repetitiveness of the joke is the worst part of these covers.

— Look, it’s the New Avengers roster facing the reader! For the fourth time in six issues!

Very true.

— I’ve gotta give very high marks to the DD #103 cover simply for using an angle I haven’t seen very often. How often do we get covers explicitly from the POV of some poor thug looking straight up at impending doom?

It is a good angle.

— Poor Korvus, sporting a fantasy-manga Big Freakin’ Sword in a pseudorealist art genre….

HA!

Yes, he is a bit misplaced in that regard.

Also, did anyone else look at the Black Panther cover and think “Why is Batman on the cover of a Marvel comic?”

Most likely that WAS the intent, yeah.

It works well, though, I think.

I think on that Marvel Adventures; Fantastic Four cover, that Kirk is drawing the Thing’s head much too small for those massive shoulders he drew.

Yeah, totally agreed. Very odd.

I also wish Granov would change it up on the Nova covers a little. Put more than one person on the cover, show them interacting somehow. He did it with issues 2 and 3, so it’s not beyond his abilities.

Yeah, and he did a really good job with them, too!

For some reason, I like that Grummett included some civilians on that Marvel Adventures: Avengers cover, so it’s not just the Avengers getting tossed around. It’s a nice touch.

I didn’t think about that, but yeah, you’re right, it IS a nice touch.

Brian, you’re thinking of the wonderful Mighty Men and Monster Maker! I wouldn’t call it a game, but it taught me everything I know about superhero anatomy:

http://www.samstoybox.com/toypics/MightyMenMonsterBox.jpg

Thanks, Tim!

I was actually thinking of the version they had “for girls” when I saw the Ms. Marvel cover, but yep, that is the one that I personally had as a kid.

The best thing, for me, about the Ms Marvel cover is that although the bodies line up vertically, they don’t fit if you cut them out and join them according to costume.

Wow! Great pick-up!

I didn’t notice that, but you’re spot on.

Does anyone still buy a book because Wolverine is in it? How five years ago is Wolverine? Especially since ten different writers will do ten different takes on him.

“Also, did anyone else look at the Black Panther cover and think ‘Why is Batman on the cover of a Marvel comic?’ ”

No, but I looked at the War Journals cover and thought, “Why is Lobo on the cover of a Punisher comic?”

Brian, thanks for continuing this column. Don’t let it go away.

To my eyes, the Marvel Illustrated covers tend toward the educational/therefore boring. Not so with the Dorian Gray #2 piece. It reminds me of the mega-hip paperback covers of the ’60’s. Very cool

The Greg Horn/Ms Marvel covers make me cringe. Ms Marvel! Superhero during the day! Superhustler at night! I can’t be the only person that wishes that Aaron Lopresti — who does great work with the Ms Marvel interiors — would get a shot at the cover job. Can I?

The Thor cover? The Silver Surfer cover? They tell me nothing…except that Thor will be in a Thor comic and that Silver Surfer plans to make an appearance in the Silver Surfer comic. Zzzzzzz. On the other hand, I love the Powers cover. Can’t exactly tell you why, tho’.

And I think you didn’t give enough props to the Cable & Deadpool cover art. Man, does it grab me. I’d have given it #1 for the month.

Honourable mentions:
Ultimate X-Men 85: Storm looks fantastic, especially the hair.

Marvel Zombies 2 #3 - Okay, there’s loads of zombie covers and Steranko homages, but this still kicks art butt

Immortal Iron Fist 12 - great portrait of Mr Rand, nuff said.

Daredevil 103 - can’t agree that this is a standard cover, thanks to the arms jutting out at the edges, gives me a sense of vertigo, anyway.

Captain America 33 - ‘cos I’d really love to read the story, especially if Bucky kicks Stark ass.

My top five covers of the month:

5 X-Men 206 - I’m a sucker for Finch and very intense portraits

4 Punisher 53 - brave and original cover - love the concept

3 Cable & Deadpool 38 - I love Skottie Young. And doesn’t he make Brother Voodoo look awesome. That’s all you need to know.

2 The Zombie: Simon Garth 2 - really brilliantly unsettling

1 Iron Man 24 - ‘cos I like surreal and this is very well conceived and carried out.

[…] Read the rest of this great post here […]